''Buddies'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

from March 5 to May 29, 1996. It was created by

Carmen Finestra Carmen Finestra (born June 26, 1947) is an American producer and TV writer who currently is partnered with Matt Williams and David McFadzean in Wind Dancer Productions, a firm which Finestra also co-owns and co-founded with actor Tim Allen. For W ...

David McFadzean David Campbell McFadzean (born April 9, 1947) is an American television producer, television writer, film producer and playwright. He is best known for co-creating the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' with Carmen Finestra and Matt Williams. Ca ...

, and Matt Williams and starred

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...

Christopher Gartin Christopher Gartin is an American actor and producer, known for ''Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Withi ...

Tanya Wright Tanya Wright (born May 3, 1971) See also: * is an American entrepreneur, actress, and author. Born and raised in South Bronx, New York, Wright studied Comparative Literature at Vassar College. After her graduation, she joined the cast of ''The C ...

, Jeff Rawluk and

Richard Roundtree Richard Arnold Roundtree (July 9, 1942 – October 24, 2023) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film '' Shaft'' and four of its sequels, '' Shaft's Big Score!'' (1972), '' Shaft ...

. It is a spin-off to

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

History

''Home Improvement'' connection

Comedians

and

Jim Breuer James Breuer (born June 21, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 1998 and starred in the film ''Half Baked'' (1998). Career Breuer was a member of the cast of ''Saturda ...

attracted the attention of TV network executives with their guest appearance on the (4th season) March 14, 1995, episode of

's highly rated

''. The storyline had Chappelle and Breuer play friends who appear together on ''

Tool Time ''Home Improvement'' is an American sitcom television series starring Tim Allen originally airing on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 17, 1991 to May 25, 1999 with a total of 204 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The se ...

'' to ask Tim Taylor advice on their girlfriends. The characters' single outing on the episode proved so popular that ABC decided to give Chappelle and Breuer their own half-hour sitcom.

Cast changes

After subsequent rehearsals, Breuer was replaced with

as Chappelle's "buddy". The unique comic timing and chemistry that Chappelle had with Breuer, his real-life friend, was not present with Gartin, and Breuer's abrupt firing exacerbated ill will. This prevented Chappelle and Gartin from developing the rapport and chemistry necessary for the characters' believability and likeability.

Broadcast

''Buddies'' premiered on Tuesday, March 5, 1996. The show garnered disappointing ratings. ''Buddies'' was cancelled on April 3 after airing only five out of the 13 produced episodes. Chappelle himself was not proud of his involvement with ''Buddies'' in retrospect:

Cast

as Dave Carlisle *

as John Bailey *

as Phyllis Brooks *

as Henry Carlisle *

Paula Cale Paula Korologos (born June 2, 1970), known professionally as Paula Cale, is an American actress best known for her role as Joanie Hansen on the television series '' Providence''. Early life Cale's father, Tom C. Korologos, worked as a top Capit ...

as Lorraine Bailey *

Judith Ivey Judith Lee Ivey (born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and theatre director. She twice won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: for '' Steaming'' (1981) and '' Hurlyburly'' (1984). She also received Best Actress In A P ...

as Maureen DeMoss

Episode list

Home media

Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...

released an exclusive DVD on May 15, 2005, that contained 10 episodes of ''Buddies'', including all 8 unaired episodes.Best Buy ad for DVD release.
Best Buy. Last accessed November 10, 2007.

References

External links

* {{Home Improvement 1990s American black sitcoms 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms 1996 American television series debuts 1996 American television series endings American television spinoffs American English-language television shows Television series by ABC Studios Television shows set in Chicago Home Improvement (TV series) Hispanic and Latino American sitcoms American Broadcasting Company sitcoms